Redemption
by Ashbrook
Summary: AU: Brambleclaw and Hawkfrost's plan has finally uncovered, and have taken over the Clan's, succeeding their father. But, when the weight of his demons becomes too much, a quest of redemption is what Bramblestar seeks. And in nowhere else but in SkyClan.


**Welcome to Redemption! Otherwise known as my first story *cheers* **_  
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**This story is a bit like some others that you may have seen in the past; it's a very fandom inspired story. But, I assure you, elements of this plot are a bit of my own creation. This story does have canon characters (duh), BUT, in SkyClan, there will be fanon characters, since I would think that there would be cats that are added to their Clan - despite that this is a stretch back in time. **

**Disclaimer: I, in no right, claim Warriors to be my own. Technically, parts of this plot aren't mine either; I reached inspiration from other stories. Both there are some characters that are mine, and I believe that you'll know who they are when you see them.**

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_Time after time I walk the fine line,_  
_But something keeps bringing me back._  
_Time after time I'm going in blind,_  
_I don't know which way I need to go..._

_**~Going in Blind,** P.O.D_

**P _r o l o g u e_**

"_You will be the greatest leader the Clans have ever known. Do you think that fool Firestar would ever succeed as proper leader of ThunderClan while you're lurking about, his 'loyal' deputy? It won't be easy, gaining every other cats trust after their leader's death and when you combine the four Clans into one. But it can be done. StarClan may not will it, but a force just as powerful will. With your brother as your deputy, winning the trust of those foolish Clan cats is easy as catching a newborn mouse. You will rule as Bramblestar, and will make me proud."_

He felt his father's word haunt his thoughts as he padded toward the Moonpool, the familiar forest trail smooth against his paws from the paw prints of the dozens of cats that preceded him. The evening sky held purple and gold tendrils along with its background of deep ocean blue.

Brambleclaw tilted his head up to survey the sky, where the first warriors of StarClan were just beginning to appear. He felt a ting of guilt rumble through his dark pelt, and he forced himself to look down, back to the stars.

He hadn't killed Firestar; watching the light leave his former mentor's eyes would hurt almost as much as feeling his claws slice through the flame-colored tom's thin fur. No, Hawkfrost had done his dirty work – he had only been the claws behind the master plan. He watched the two toms from the safety of the bushes near the lakeshore, wincing as the foxtrap fixed around the one cat that he had truly looked up to gurgled in its metallic grasp.

The dark brown tom frowned as he saw how dimly lit the stars were this night, almost as if StarClan were turning their backs from him, not allowing him access to their light and guidance. He hadn't done anything wrong, right?

It had been Hawkfrost's claws behind Firestar's death; his _half-brother_ had done the wrong, not him. Even though the thought brought a bit of weight from his shoulders, he couldn't help but feel the tinniest feeling of remorse and guilt for what he had allowed to happen.

_Perhaps I could've gone with it another way, _he thought, frowning and leaping over a fallen branch. _Hawkfrost killed Leopardstar, Blackstar, and Onestar too. I wasn't even present for that; I was too busy comforting Squirrelflight. But I knew that he was going to do it. _He looked away from his own paws, ears flattening to his head. _Invading their nests and murdering them like that was very suspicious though; Tawnypelt looked almost as shocked as everyone else when they realized that Ashfoot and Mistyfoot had been chased away and Russetfur had been killed. _Brambleclaw snorted, his claws unsheathing the tiniest bit and pricking into the ground, plucking a few pieces of dirt from it. _But Hawkfrost can make a cat think that a dog was a bird with his sureness and persuasion. _

Brambleclaw smiled slightly when he thought of his new Clan, the Clan that he had made in the ruins of the frantic lake territories. The name TigerClan had shocked a few cats; after all, it was no secret to any cat who the father of Brambleclaw and Hawkfrost was.

A small breeze bellowed through the trees, ruffling his fur and making him nip his bottom lip in order to control the small shivers that raked through his body. He flicked his tail as he saw how utterly alone he felt in the big forest.

Leafpool was absent; he had allowed her time to grieve. He had requested to make this journey alone; to any other cat this would simply look like a tom that was grieving for the loss of his leader and for the other leaders and deputies of the Clans. But, to be honest, he couldn't handle the presence of a Warrior Code bound medicine cat by his side, a cat that would be present for all of the possible insults and mistrusting words that StarClan could throw at him.

Brambleclaw flicked his tail-tip, padding through the territory that used to be WindClan's; all territories belonged to TigerClan now, for room purposes. All cats that belonged to their former Clan's slept there, but Clan meetings were to be held in ThunderClan's old territory. He wrinkled his nose from a flaw in his plan. _I guess I'll send a few cats to go into the territories and tell the cats that aren't in ThunderClan camp that there's a Clan meeting or something. _

He sighed, unpleased by the sudden feeling of abandonment that he felt in the lonely WindClan territory. There was no scent of rabbit or of WindClan cats; only the scent of breeze and the vast space between here and the mountains.

Brambleclaw growled, flicking his tail and holding up his head. _I shouldn't dwell on the events that happened yesterday. _He looked away, unsheathing his claws and curling his lip. He began walking once again, twitching his whiskers. _It was in the past, and the blood of the deceased is not on my paws. I'm finally leader, just as Tigerstar had always planned for me._

His amber eyes faintly glimmered with a feeling of warmth that spread from his chest to his toes, sparking up into his tail-tip. _And he's finally proud of me. And I don't mean like he just said it, I could _feel_ it. I know that he is – he meant it. Not even Tawnypelt or Hawkfrost could understand that that means to me. My whole life, I've been proving myself to someone, and now….now I don't have to. _

Suddenly, a shaking bush caught the now-leader off guard, causing him to arch his back and growl. He blinked in shock and in confusion, before a familiar scent washed over him. His spine fur rested back into place as Crowfeather bounced out of the bush, shaking out his shorter dark gray fur.

Brambleclaw blinked at the tom, tilting his head to one side. "What are you doing here, Crowfeather? Shouldn't you be at TigerClan camp or something?" he asked, almost impatiently despite it was he who began the conversation.

Crowfeather looked up at the Moonpool, and then back at Brambleclaw, shrugging. "I was just…," He looked behind him, blinking at the disheveled rocks and dirt in the distance. "Visiting the warriors den," he murmured, looking at his paws.

The tom looked back up at him, blue eyes troubled. "Looking at Ashfoot's old nest. To think, she was laying there just yesterday morning. But now…"

Brambleclaw shuffled his paws, nodding. "Yeah, I get it." He murmured, looking back up at the direction of the Moonpool. "Look, I have too…," he began, before Crowfeather nodded.

"Yeah, get your nine lives and become Bramblestar. I know," And that was that, before Crowfeather flicked his tail and padded off, the scent of his troubling thoughts carrying over to Brambleclaw, causing his prick in sympathy.

_Ashfoot isn't dead, _He wanted to tell his friend, to give him a sense of hope for her. He shook his head, claws digging into the ground, before he turned away from the forest. _But that won't give him closure and it won't help him get over it. _

He felt the kneaded rock beneath his tough, gray paw pads, the faded imprint of paw prints from the cats before him around the sacred pool. The stars shone back at him, glittering at him. It was night now, and was now or never.

He bent down, muzzle guzzling in the Moonpool. Its waters tasted different; pure, clear. He felt his legs begin to buckle underneath him as the moonlight touched his back, the water trickling down his throat and filling his belly.

.

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_Brambleclaw felt the stars whisper through his fur as he approached StarClan territory. Beautiful and densely grassed forest territory greeted his eyes, causing him to smile with gratitude at the fresh scent of rabbit, mice, vole, and almost every other prey he had ever scented._

_He grinned as he saw a thick sheet of mist surround him, blanketing him in eagerness. _Finally, _he thought, raising his muzzle and tasting the scents of the cats that would grant him his nine lives._

_Brambleclaw felt his paws tingle with anticipation as he saw a shadow flicker across the thick, silvery-gray mist in the form of a cat. He flicked his tail, raising his head and haunches up to look a bit more presentable. He watched as the cat turned its head, disputing inaudible words to another feline figure. He felt his heart beat as the first cat begun to head toward him, whiskers becoming shadowed as it neared._

_He felt his heart skip a bit as Firestar's flame-colored fur became outlined, emerald eyes set in a younger face. The leader blinked at him, before Bluestar joined him, not as kind._

_Brambleclaw tilted his head to the side at the sight of the two former ThunderClan leaders, by themselves, but with no other cat around. _Well, aren't there supposed to be nine? Or do they all come at different times…?

_Bluestar growled, causing Firestar to flinch – something unusual for Brambleclaw to see. "You think," she began, her voice uncharismatic – unlike anything that he was used to, even when Bluestar had a depressed state from when he was an apprentice. "that we can give you nine lives?"_

_Brambleclaw flinched, eyes wide. He looked over to Firestar. "What does she mean?" he asked, paws trembling upon seeing Firestar look away._

_Bluestar growled, "You know _exactly_ what I mean, Brambleclaw," she told him furiously. "You are responsible for the death of the other Clans!" _

_He shook his head, and bit his bottom lip in fear. "I…I didn't," he began, but Bluestar only turned her back from him, tail lashing in her frustration and anger._

"_You won't get your nine lives." _

_Brambleclaw gasped in horror, his fur prickling. Suddenly, his face hardened. "But I can still call myself Bramblestar! I'm still leader!" he tried, but his growl was only met by silence._

_The dream peeled away like a bird's wings unfurling._

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**Short prologue is short, yes :P But the other chapters will be at least twice or three times as long. **

**Some notes:**

**0: The reason why no cat was suspicious of Bramblestar and Hawkfrost's sudden taking over is because of a. the amount of grief that most of them are currently going through (ex. Crowfeather), and b. because they honestly feel no need to. Like with Tigerstar's miniature monologue in the beginning of the prologue, the cats of ThunderClan don't think that Brambleclaw would be a suspicious. If anything (like we'll see in future chapters), they're more suspicious of Hawkfrost then anything.**

**0: Brambleclaw seems a bit OOC, I know. But his whole 'craziness' stage will have a different light in later chapters.**

**Thank you for reading the prologue, and I hope you review!**


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